UNICEF Canada

Angela's Story

8 October 2009

On 3 October, UNICEF Representative in Indonesia Angela Kearney (second from left) joins children in a moment of laughter, inside a damaged building in the rural village of Pakandangan in Pariaman District, one of the areas worst-affected by the earthquakes. Ms. Kearney is assessing needs in the village, which was severely damaged during the disaster.

Dear friends,

A week ago, tragedy struck for thousands of children here in Indonesia, as a massive earthquake shattered the province of West Sumatra. You will have seen the images of destroyed homes, landslides, buried villages and the shock written on the faces of those affected.

I recently returned from the earthquake zone where I met with some of the children touched by this terrible disaster. While heartbreaking to see the devastation, I want to reassure you that UNICEF is on the ground, bringing much-needed assistance to children.

More than 100,000 children were caught in the midst of the quake, each one acutely vulnerable to potential disease, lack of shelter, disruption to education, and the traumatic effects of living through such an experience.

Children are always the most affected by emergencies, and it is critical that they have access to clean water, and are protected from the threat of diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections and outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, polio and tetanus. The children I spoke to talked of their apprehensions – scared of experiencing more shocks, of losing their homes, or never returning to normal life. These are the natural fears that we are trying to address.

As the search and rescue teams end their work, UNICEF remains at the heart of the recovery effort, working alongside the government authorities and other organizations to ensure that the smallest and youngest of those affected are not overlooked.

Our initial efforts are helping provide emergency supplies for 50,000 families. This includes making available water pumps, water storage equipment, 40,000 jerry cans and 40,000 hygiene kits, providing protective services and safe places for children, supplying 250 school tents, schools-in-a-box, and recreational kits which will all help children re-establish a sense of normalcy. Already, some 70,000 children have returned to school in the provincial capital alone, and we expect to see thousands more coming back in the days ahead.

Now we must focus our energies on preventing outbreaks of disease by supporting immunization campaigns and re-establishing clean water and sanitation, while ensuring that children who may have lost their parents are adequately cared for in their communities.

Much remains to be done, and you can help us to continue the efforts. Your donation to UNICEF will help rebuild the shattered lives of the children of West Sumatra, and I can guarantee that we will put your generosity to good use, quickly and effectively.

On behalf of the children who look to UNICEF for help, thank you so very much.

Angela Kearney
Representative, UNICEF Indonesia


UNICEF Indonesia/2009/Josh Estey	UNICEF Indonesia/2009/Josh Estey
At Elementary School 1 in Padang, local workers erect a UNICEF-supplied school tent to serve as an emergency classroom in the aftermath of the 30 September earthquake which devastated the Indonesian region of West Sumatra. Elementary School 1 lost nearly every classroom but students will study outside and in the tented classroom, experiencing the first signs of normality again, amidst the devastation.	At Elementary School 1 in Padang, local workers erect a UNICEF-supplied school tent to serve as an emergency classroom in the aftermath of the 30 September earthquake which devastated the Indonesian region of West Sumatra, as UNICEF Indonesia Representative Angela Kearney discusses urgent needs with local government officials.